Delta Air Lines clings to $7M profit in 4Q

Delta Air Lines ekes out $7 million profit for 4Q after Superstorm Sandy, special charges

FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, file photo, travelers on Delta Airlines waits for flights, in Detroit. Delta said Superstorm Sandy hurt fourth-quarter profits by $100 million in 2012. That, plus special charges, left Delta Air Lines Inc. with a profit of just $7 million. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, file)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profit was nearly wiped out by Superstorm Sandy and special charges.

The storm forced airlines to cancel more than 20,000 flights. The impact was bigger at Delta because Sandy also slowed down operations at its new oil refinery near Philadelphia.

Delta's goal in restarting the refinery was to maximize jet fuel production and reduce its fuel bill. But Sandy slowed the refinery's restart. The refinery lost $63 million for the quarter and added 7 cents per gallon to the price of Delta's jet fuel. Delta said it expects the refinery to be profitable in the current quarter.

Delta said Sandy cut $100 million from its fourth-quarter profit. It recorded another $231 million in special items. What was left was net income for the quarter of $7 million, or a penny per share. During the same period last year Delta earned $425 million, or 51 cents per share.

Without special items, earnings would have been $238 million, or 28 cents per share.

Revenue rose 2 percent to $8.6 billion. Both the adjusted profit and the revenue were slightly better than expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Managers said on a conference call that they're focused on improving profit margins. Delta also said it expects lower fuel prices in the first quarter. Delta has said that it wants to look into using crude oil from North Dakota at the refinery, which currently uses oil that arrives by ship. The refinery will get a shipment of North Dakota oil this quarter as a test, said Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson.